


when the villain goes down, who’s at fault in the end?

by chaoticlywise



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Author is not a doctor, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Peter Parker Feels, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-07 02:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15898848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticlywise/pseuds/chaoticlywise
Summary: “You’re hurt,” Steve states blatantly, looking down at the ghastly injury.“No, really? Thanks for the assessment, Captain Obvious.” Peter sindes back.“Let me help.” Cap says earnestly, choosing to ignore Peter’s quip.“No, I’ve got it, I’ve dealt with worse.”“Please, you’ve got to trust me-”Peter whirls on him. “No, I don’t have to trust you. There is no reason why I should even talk to you, let alone trust you because I don’t, not in the slightest.” Steve nods stiffly.Or:Tony takes Peter and Rhodey on a suspicious looking mission. It’s actually going pretty well until Steve Rogers, a bomb, and a hostage situation are involved. Tony wishes he’d left the kid and Rhodey at home.





	when the villain goes down, who’s at fault in the end?

**Author's Note:**

> Longer fic, this one is. Lemme explain some stuff for ya. 
> 
> Okay, so the accords are in action still in this fic but Tony makes this is a sorta under-the-radar mission so the UN doesn’t know anything about it. Ross still doesn’t know Spider-Man’s identity, he doesn’t even know the suit is Stark tech. Just keep this all in mind as you read.
> 
> I also take recommendations (being creative and original is hard lol)! If you would like to recommend a fic, you can comment it on my most recent fic or ask me on Tumblr (@chaoticlywise). Happy reading and hit me up with some prompts!

There are two things Tony Stark was absolutely sure of. One, he didn’t want Steve Rogers anywhere near Peter Parker, nor anyone else that stuck with him over the years. The kid was too good for that asshole. Number two was something Tony learned from an Afghanistan cave a few years back: just because he wants something, doesn’t mean he always gets it. He had to start getting used to the fact that the second one would happen more often than the first. 

Tony had taken Rhodey and Peter on a mission, an easy mission. It was in some jungle in Mexico where some shady shit was supposedly going down. It was just reconnaissance. Get in, get the information they needed, and get the hell out. Ross didn’t know about it and if Tony had any say in the matter, he wouldn’t. Something Tony had not accounted for, however, was that Cap and his team of rouges would be going on the same mission. 

It had been simple enough. Infiltrate a suspected blackmarket base, take it out if they had to, get information on other blackmarket bases, and go back home. Safe and sound because Tony wouldn’t allow it to be anything else but safe.

“What’s our ETA?” Peter asks for about the 5th time in the last 30 minutes. Tony rolls his eyes good naturedly. Rhodey answers before Tony can say something snarky back.

“What? You bored of us old men already? Kids these days,” he asks in a teasing tone as he guides the quinjet down to the forest floors. Peter looks out the window in awe. “We’re here.” Rhodey says, going over to his suit to suit up. Tony had changed into his suit halfway through the flight, threatening to turn on mute mode in his suit so he wouldn’t have to hear Peter complain (Peter had fake whined at that, saying he wasn’t complaining. Both of the older men laughed and rolled their eyes). Peter had changed into his suit in the Compound so he wouldn’t have to worry about it when they arrived. That was fine with Tony. The safer he was, the better.

“Okay, kid, you know deal. You’re with me. Rhodes is backup, he’s gonna hide out and take anyone down if he thinks they’re a threat.” Tony says, his voice is serious. Peter nods. “And whatever you do, don’t do anything stupid. Or something I would do. Those both kinda fall in the same category- you know what? Just be careful.” Rhodey clears his throat from behind them.

“Okay, dad of the year, you and the kid need to head out before we get spotted.” Rhodey says. Tony scoffs a little but hides a smile. 

Tony looks at Rhodey and Peter for a second, really just looks at them, wondering how he got so lucky to have these idiots in his life. He only quits when Rhodey starts to look concerned and Peter starts to fidget. He claps his hands together. “Alrighty, let’s head out.” He says, his voice overly cheerful. 

——————————————————————

The building isn’t hard to break into. It makes Tony suspicious. Something has to be going on here, they got a tip. Someone Peter took down while patrolling had mentioned it before they were taken into custody.

Once they get inside the building, Tony is on high alert. It was less intimidating outside, they still had some leverage. They don’t anymore and he brought his fucking kid into this. 

Speaking of the kid, he was being too quiet for his usual behavior and it made Tony both greatful and worried. He never shut up, something some people might see as a flaw but Tony loved most of the time. It cleared his usually jumbled up mind.

They walk in silence for a few minutes and the whole time, they don’t see anyone. It feels like Tony’s walked them into a trap. That’s when Rhodey comes in on the comms. “Uh, we may have a… situation, Tones.” 

“What’s up?” Tony asks, voice going soft and shifting none too subtly in front of Peter who gets into a defencive stance.

“Cap’s here. So is Sam and Natasha.” Those seven words make his world crash down around him. Tony has to get Peter out right goddamn now.

“Shit, lets go.” Tony says, pushing Peter towards where the cane in from but Peter resists. 

“Wait, I heard something,” Peter says and his statement lilts up at the end, like a question. Tony turns his head in the way Peter’s facing, his head is tilted to the side, like he’s listening to or for something. He doesn’t hear or see anything. Peter turns towards Tony. “We have to go.” He says. 

“Yeah, that’s what I was trying to do-”

“No,” Peter says and he points down the hall and this is beginning to feel too much like the start of a horror movie for Tony’s tastes. “We have to go down there, I heard voices.” 

“Sorry kid, we can’t. Cap and his team are here,” Tony stresses. “They are probably trying to handle the same thing we are anyway. Let’s go.” He says as he grabs Peter wrist and tugs him away. 

“Tony, stop,” Peter says and his voice is a soft hiss. Tony knows this voice, it’s serious and dangerously low. There’s no changing Peter’s mind now. “I’m going down there whether you come with me or not.” He says. Tony wants to scream at the kid, make him understand the situation. If they stay, they could get hurt from whatever is here or Cap and his team. He needs Peter safe, to keep him and his people in the Compound for the next couple of days while everything settles. 

But he knows Peter won’t be swayed. It’s better to go with him so he can protect him than to let him go on his own for the sake of Tony’s own selfish reasons. So, Tony relents. 

“Fine, but I’m coming with you.” Peter nods. They begin to walk down the hall, Tony taking the lead and Peter directing him on where to turn every now and then. 

“Stop,” Peter says, listening hard to something Tony can’t hear. “That room, on the right, someone’s in there.” He says. Tony sees which room he’s talking about and shudders. The door alone looks fucking scary, all dirty and rotting, not that he would admit being even a little nervous. 

They walk quietly towards the door and Tony can hear something now, too. Something like… whimpering? That… can’t be right, right? And it sounds like people, plural and not singular. Tony prays to whatever god is listening that it’s Cap and his team, taking down the baddies and not any of the worse case scenarios he’s thinking of. 

Tony looks to Peter and count in barely a whisper that he know the kid can hear down from three. He blasts the door open and there is screaming and scrambling from in the room. 

Inside, it’s worse than anything Tony could dream up. Cages line the walls and fucking people are inside them. Not just people, Tony releases in horror, kids ranging from what looks like toddlers to older teens. He can hear Peter gag behind him. Tony just looks on in shock as he remembers just how horrible humanity can be. He’s startled out his horror induced shock when Peter moves inside and starts to open the cages, helping kids out. 

Tony moves to help Peter get the kids out. They look sickly and pale and too skinny and Tony is unimaginably happy none of these kids are Peter, no matter how selfish the thought is. 

There's a lot of kids in here, more than they originally thought and it makes Tony’s blood absolutely boil. Who the fuck would do this? And to children, too. When Tony found whoever the fuck was in charge of this, he was gonna kill them. 

Peter and Tony don’t talk unless it’s to the kids the whole time. Both of them know what the other is thinking. Then, Peter interrupts the panicky silence. 

“Someone’s coming,” he says, position turning defensive towards the door. Tony helps the last kid out - it’s a little boy, maybe 5 years old. Tony’s heart goes out to the kids parents - and then turns to the door, one gauntlet already whirring. Tony keeps in mind that there's an army of kids behind him, so he decides to keep it PG.

Then Capitan goddamn America walks around the corner. Tony can feel his heart stop. It feels like the shrapnel is back in his chest, the car battery pulsing and wheezing and trying to keep the deadly metal away from his heart. It feels like Obbie ripping the arc reactor out of his chest while he can’t move because of his own fucking device. It feels like watching Pepper, Rhodey, and Peter slip just out of his grasp. It feels like making a murder bot and watching as Sokovia drops out of the sky. 

It feels like watching his parents die. 

Anger and pain flares up in Tony. He doesn’t put the glowing gauntlet down even when Cap puts his hands up in a placating manner. 

“Stark,” The Captain says for a greeting and Tony gets the strong, appealing urge to punch him right in the mouth. “Me and Sam and ‘Tasha are here to help, if you need any-”

“Not from you.”

“Mister Stark-” 

“Kid, just- don’t.”

Steve sighs and he looks rough, older now, too. “Tony, please just let us help,” he says and he sounds sincere as shit. It reminds Tony of why he even started to trust the guy in the first place. “After this, you never have to talk to us again. Don’t even have to look at us. But Tony, this is more serious than you think-” 

A childish sounding scream resonates around the room from behind them. Tony whips around to see what all the commotion is about. There's a guy standing there, pointing a gun at a crying, tween girls head looking menacing as fuck. He’s wearing mostly black but he doesn’t cover his scarred up face. And to top it all off, there’s a very unstable, homemade looking bomb in his other hand. Fantastic. 

Tony moves his arm quickly and blasts the man in the chest. “Spidey, get the kids outta here along with captain spangles over there. We’ll deal with everything else later.” Tony says and Peter nods, looking like he was about to address the kids when a soft beeping catches Tony’s attention. He turns around, really hoping against hope that it isn’t what he think it is. 

The guy is gone when he turns around but the bomb is still there, and it’s counting down from five seconds, because of course it is. 

“Peter, go-!” Tony’s cut off by the bomb detonating. Everything goes black.

——————————————————————

Parental panic is the first thing Tony feels when he comes to. His eyes snap open with a shout on his lips. 

“Peter!” He looks around frantically and sees the other kids helping one another up but he doesn’t see his kid. The building is falling apart. The wall near the bomb was blown open and trees and the night sky could be seen from the large hole in the side of the building. The shock wears off and he presses the button on his comm.

“-ony? Are you there?” Peter’s voice floods Tony’s helmet as he goes to help some of the younger kids up. He sighs a little in relief. 

“Kid, where are you?” 

“Uh, yeah, so you see the wall of rubble somewhere next to you, where the doorway is- was?” Peter asks and Tony hums in affirmation as he looks at the rubble. “Okay, so we’re behind that. We’re stuck ‘cause the doorway is blocked off by the rubble but it looks stable enough-” Tony cuts Peter off. 

“You and who else, Pete?”

“Here’s the thing,” Peter begins and Tony can feel the headache forming and pulsing behind his eyes. “I may or may not be stuck with Cap.” Peter says it almost like a question and Tony groans.

“Of shitting course you are,” he sighs and he can hear Peter’s side of the conversation, presumably with Cap. That or there’s something else the kid isn’t telling him. “Okay, I’ll get you out in like, the next 15-ish minutes, got it?” He says, already heading for the rock wall.

“Mister Stark, help the kids first,” Peter says. It throws Tony for a loop because shit, he kinda forgot about that. “Come back for us when you can. Cap was talking to Falcon over their comms and he said he and the Black Widow would be here in a couple of minutes to start getting some of the rubble off.”

“I swear to god, I never want to hear the word rubble ever again.” Tony says with barely concealed exasperation as he ran a hand down his face. “Okay, I’m gonna take care of the tykes out here and I’ll be back ASAP, got that Pete?” 

“Yep, we’ll be good Mister Stark,” Peter says confidently. Then in a softer voice, he continues. “I can still kick Cap’s ass if it comes down, you know that, Tony.” 

“I trust you, kiddo, I know you can handle yourself, but you shouldn’t have to.” Tony says but he knows there's nothing he can do about this situation right now. “Well, I would tell you to stay put but… you know.” Tony finishes lamely. The kid snorts a little but the ensuing silence hurts more than Tony expects it to. “I’ll be back in like, 15 minutes tops and you’ll be outta there in no time.” 

“Yep, go do your thing, Mister Stark. We’re good.” Peter says and Tony can’t help but think they’re anything but.

——————————————————————

Peter isn’t happy with the predicament he’s in right now. Not only is he stuck under a building that has half fallen down, but he’s stuck with Steve Rogers. It’s dark in the little space and he’s sure the inky black would send him over the edge into panic if it weren’t for the night vision in the mask. Adrenalin courses through him, blocking out pain and any emotion besides annoyed.

A loud crack reverberates around the area and a soft, green light brightens the room. Peter looks up and realizes that Steve had broken some sort of glorified glow stick. The older man looks surprised that another person was stuck with him, like maybe the talking was his imagination getting the better of him, but he wipes the shock off of his face quickly.

“Hey, are you okay?” Steve asks, holding a hand out as if to comfort him. God, what an asshole. Peter has a hard time not snarling out his answer. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” Steve actually recoils at the harsh tone Peter uses. 

“Cool, glad that’s- sorted,” he says a little awkwardly, looking away. “So… you’re Stark’s kid, right?” Peter scoffs. Was this guy seriously trying to small talk with him? Captain goddamn America was trying to small talk with Peter Parker? Peter’s life was so weird. 

Peter turns to look at him, the eyes on his mask are just little slits now as he glares at the man beside him. “You do realize that you almost killed Tony? In Siberia?” He says and Steve has the audacity to look affronted.

“I- listen, there’s a lot you don’t know about that-”

“Really?” Peter asks, turning his head a little more to face him. “Tony told me about what happened. So if you think I can’t form my own opinions about you and your team, you’re dead wrong.” Peter says. He goes to adjust so he’s facing the man, he doesn’t trust him enough to have his back facing him, but pain erupts in his leg and his vision whites out.

When his vision clears up, Steve is closer to him and is looking at him with worried eyes. 

“What happened? Where does it hurt?” Steve asks. Peter scrambles back as far as he can without worsening the pain.

“Don’t touch me,” Peter says with venom in his voice. He hasn’t forgotten what he and his team did at the airport. Steve backs off slightly looking incredibly sad and Peter takes this moment to examine the damage. If Peter’s being completely honest, it’s not as bad as he thought it was going to be. His suit is ripped and his left knee is just popped out of place. The only reason it looks bad is because it’s already bruising, turning an almost black color in the center and fading out to sickly shades of green and yellow.

“You’re hurt,” Steve states blatantly, looking down at the ghastly injury. 

“No, really? Thanks for the assessment, Captain Obvious.” Peter sindes back, poking the bruise slightly and wincing. 

“Let me help.” Cap says earnestly, choosing to ignore Peter’s quip.

“No, I’ve got it, I’ve dealt with worse.” 

“Please, you’ve got to trust me-” 

Peter whirls on him. “No, I don’t have to trust you. There is no reason why I should even talk to you, let alone trust you because I don’t, not in the slightest.” Steve nods stiffly.

“Tony’s not gonna be happy,” Steve remarks, seeming as if he was talking to himself but it gets Peter thinking. “C’mon, son, just let me help. You’re right, you have no reason to trust me but we’re both stuck under here so if it comes to it, we might have to get out ourselves. Better for you to be in full, working condition, right?” Steve asks. Peter knows he’s right. He needs help.

“Fine,” Peter relents and Steve scoots forward. “This isn’t me giving into you or whatever you think, I’m doing it for me and that’s it.” Peter says and it feels like the worst thing he’s ever said to another human being, no matter what they’ve done. Steve nods and braces his hands around Peter’s leg. He slowly straightens it out and Peter gasps because that fucking hurt. 

“Okay, this isn’t gonna feel good,” Steve says placing his hands under the lowered kneecap. It all looks so wrong and Peter feels like he might be sick. Without warning, Steve pushes the kneecap up forcefully and Peter cries out. 

“Sh- shit, dude,” Peter stutters as his hands instinctively move down to hold his knee. Steve looks at him worriedly and Peter may be holding a grudge over the man but his aunt taught him better than to be rude to people who’ve helped you. “Thanks.” Peter grumbles as he leans back against the wall, closing his eyes and keeping his leg sticking out. He hears Steve mumble something that sounds like ‘no problem,’ and Peter leans his head back against the wall and lets out a shuddering sigh.

Steve’s hands are back and wrapping something around his leg. Startled, Peter’s eyes snap open and he flinches back. Steve’s eyes flit up to Peter’s masked ones but just keeps on doing whatever he was doing. Now that Peter is looking, he sees that Steve had taken off his left knee guard and was clipping it around Peter’s knee.

“That should help keep it in place until we can get you medical.” Steve says scooting back so he was sitting with his back against the wall opposite of Peter. Silence settles over the room like fog and Peter really just wants out of here. He knows Tony is most definitely panicking, Rhodey is probably trying to calm him down while Natasha and Sam do… whatever it is that they’re doing. 

Peter has to remind himself that this is okay, Tony will get him out of here. That this isn’t homecoming night. That the Vulture isn’t the one that brought the building down on him. That he has the suit and he could easily contact Tony if he needed to. He forgets Karen is even in the suit until she starts talking to him.

“Peter, you’re heart rate is spiking and breathing is becoming uneven. Would you like me to contact Mister Stark?” She asks kindly. Peter is grateful for her presence even if she is just an AI.

“That might actually be nice, Karen, thanks,” Peter says. Steve looks up at him with a confused look on his face and Peter ignores him. Tony’s voice comes over the comm.

“Hey, kid, you good?” Tony asks. Peter feels tears well up in his eyes and he doesn’t know why exactly.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he says but his voice is a little more watery than he would like. Tony obviously hears it in his voice.

“You sure? You sound like you’re upset.” He asks and Peter sniffs loudly. 

“Yeah, just thought I would tell you my knee was popped outta place. Uh, Steve helped me reset it so it’s okay but can you maybe… hurry up, a little bit at least?” Peter says and he hears Tony curse softly.

“I’ll be there in a minute, Pete, will you be okay until then?” 

Peter doesn’t know if he’ll be alright for a little while longer, the weight of his situation crashes into him like the rubble pressing in around him. He just wants to go to the Compound and lay down on one of the worn sofas in the lab with May and Ned and Tony there and just sleep for a little while. Just a little nap. Panic fuels Peter and he can feel the oncoming anxiety attack from a mile away.

“Yeah,” Peter lies. “I can wait.” 

——————————————————————

Tony knows Peter isn’t okay. In fact, the kid is probably as far from okay than he has been in a while. He had told Tony about Homecoming night, the warehouse collapsing on him, not being able to get out. It was surprising that the kid was keeping it together this long. 

“I’m almost to you, kid,” Tony says into the comm as he briskly walks over to the crumbling building. Inside he sees Sam and Natasha lifting cement off of where his kid was. God, this sucked. He just wanted to get his kid out of this hell hole as soon as possible. Which probably wouldn’t be that soon since the local police force were still a half hour out. Peter grunts over the comm, probably shifting positions as much as he can from his healing injury and it’s probably much worse in the confined space.

“It’s fine, Mister Stark, no rush.” Peter groans. All Tony can see is Peter’s face, nose scrunched up in that way he does when he’s hurt. This is the worst, he should never have brought Peter and Rhodey on this mission since he didn’t know what the hell might happen. And now, the kid was paying the price for his close-mindedness. 

“Yeah, sounds completely and totally fine,” Tony says sarcastically as he reaches Natasha and Sam. He starts to lift cinder blocks off of the never ending rubble.

“Exactly! It’s great, living my best life-” Peter is cut off with a choked gasp. “Oh, my god- Tony, if you’re out there moving the rubble, you gotta stop! It’s shifting too much in here.” Peter says with panic underlying his tone. 

“Shit,” Tony mutters as he turns to face Natasha. “I know you’ve got Rogers in your ear, you know what’s going down in there?” He asks her. She nods and for a moment, it’s like nothing has changed. It’s just the Avengers, rescuing injured teammates. 

But then, Peter is wheezing in his ear and the world snaps back to the harsh reality it truly is. 

“Yeah, we’re mostly caught up to speed,” she says, placing a rather large chunk of cement on the floor next to her and then placing her hands on her hips with a quizzical look on her face. “Why? Something wrong?”

“Yeah, structure’s unsound. Not gonna last much longer if we keep going at it from out here.” 

“Well, fuck.”

“My sentiments exactly.” 

“What can we do?” Sam asks. Tony doesn’t know, he’s not in there so he doesn’t know what would take it down on top of them or not. 

“Hold it, I got an idea,” Tony says as he presses the button on his comm to activate it. “Hey, kid, we can’t get you out from out here so would you happen to have any ideas on how to get you guys out?” Peter hums in thought. 

“I dunno if this’ll work but the door frame is blocked off with rubble, it still looks like it’s stable so if you can get back around to the other side-”

“We can get you out from inside,” Tony realizes. Peter hums his affirmation. “One step ahead of you, kid. We’re heading there now.” He says as he motions for Sam and Nat to follow him. 

“Okay, see ya in a few.” Peter says and there's a little bit of hope in his voice.

“Yep, see you then.” Tony says before hanging up. Natasha and Sam look at him expectantly.

“What’s the plan?” Sam asks.

“There’s a doorway inside, if we can get around to the other side of the door, we can clear out the rubble and get them out.” Tony explains. Sam looks happy with the plan but Natasha looks sceptical. 

“Tony,” Natasha begins, voice solemn. “What do we do if this doesn’t work?” She asks and Tony really doesn't want to think about that right now, not when such a vital part of his life is one of the two people stuck under there. 

“We’ll cross that bridge if it comes to it.”

——————————————————————

Okay, so Peter is starting to feel claustrophobic and that’s really not good because it’s going to be another 15 minutes at least before Tony and the others can get them out. Peter throws his head back against the wall and groans. Steve looks up.

“You okay? Your knee bothering you?” Steve asks. Peter hadn’t even been thinking about that until now. His knee twinged in pain and he only winced a little. Steve still probably noticed.

“Sure,” Peter grunts as he adjusts his leg. “Let’s just go with that.” Steve looks at him with sympathy and Peter absolutely loathes it. Even if this guy helped him, he hates pitty.

“I know that’s not the reason but I won’t press unless you need to talk,” Steve says, voice soft and understanding. If he didn’t before, Peter really wanted out now, he definitely didn’t want to talk to the guy that beat the shit out of his mentor about his mental health. “Is it the area? It is a pretty tight squeeze in here, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah,” Peter says, gritting his teeth. “Talking about it isn’t helping.” 

“Sorry,” Steve says, sounding genuinely apologetic. “Something that helps me when I panic is closing my eyes and imagining I’m somewhere else. You can do it, if it helps.” Peter eyes him, untrusting. Steve chuckles softly, sadly. “Kid, I’m not gonna do anything.” 

Peter stares him down for a second longer before closing his eyes. He imagines he’s somewhere with a lot of space, like in the backyard of the Compound, sun shining brightly on him, warm and welcoming. Tony and May are there, too, and he’s sure if he looked hard enough, he would spot Ned, Rhodey, Happy, and Pepper. It’s nice. 

But then, the rubble shifts and his eyes open sharply, slowly readjusting to the dim light. Dust falls onto his masked head and onto Steve hair. They make subtle eye contact and Peter is sure Steve is actually scared for a moment. Tony’s voice comes over the comm. 

“Hey, spiderbaby, we’re here and about to start digging out here. You’ll be out super soon, promise.” He says and Peter knows he’ll get out of this. Tony never promises something he isn’t sure if he can keep. “You, uh, you okay in there?” Tony asks quietly. 

Peter nods and then realizes Tony can’t see him so he says, “yeah, but I’ll be better once I’m outta here,” in the same soft voice. He hears Tony’s disapproving hum and Peter thinks it might have been the wrong thing to say. 

“Okay, well I’m glad I have a time limit now,” Tony says to himself. Peter smiles softly, taking his hand aways from the comm as more rubble is taken away outside.

“You hang out with Tony a lot, don’t you?” Steve asks suddenly. Peter answers slowly and hesitantly.

“... yeah, I guess.” He says. “Why?” 

“Just… you two seem close is all.” Steve says back. “I can tell you’re good for him. He cares about you.” 

“I mean, I guess.” Peter stutters a little. “Why’s it even matter to you?”

“Tony was my friend, I wish he still was but I don’t think he looks at me the same after Siberia. I still care about him and if you make him happy, I’m glad.” Steve says, voice sounding completely serious. Peter nods. 

“I think we all just want him to be happy,” Peter says, thinking over his words carefully. “He’s been through… a lot. A lot more than I have by far. He’s a tough guy but he needs to give himself a break. He’s still torn up over your fallout. If he’ll talk to you, maybe you should try.” He says honestly and it’s probably the nicest thing he’s said to Steve all night. 

Steve smiles. “Smart kid, I see why Tony likes you.” 

“I’m not a-” Peter begins with a huff but he’s cut off by a small light peaking through the rock wall next to him. He scrambles back so nothing falls on top of him. More of the wall chips away and more light seeps into the space. Tony’s voice comes through the hole in the wall. 

“Hey, kiddo, you ready to get outta there?” He asks and Peter feels like he could jump for joy.

“God, you have no idea,” Peter sighs. “Cap over here kept trying to push his PSA’s on me. Like I haven’t seen them every year since I was in fifth grade.” He scoffs and Tony huffs out a laugh. 

“Are you corrupting my kid, Rogers? I’m the only one allowed to do that. Better not be or we’re gonna have to have some words.” Tony says. Peter can tell it taking every fiber of Tony’s being not to be harsh to the Captain. Peter can share the sentiment.

“Don’t worry, Stark,” Steve says. “You’ve got a good kid, can’t corrupt him if you tried.” Heavy silence takes over both spaces but chucks of rubble are still being picked up and peeled away. 

Soon enough, the hole is big enough for Tony to reach his hand through and rip the rest of the rocks away safely. Peter crawls out first, left leg dragging behind him. Tony’s kneeling on the ground and drags Peter body towards his own suit clad one once he is safely out. They hug and the angle is awkward but they make it work. 

Tony pulls back after Steve is helped out and throws him a quick glance. “Thanks for keeping him company,” Tony says before directing his gaze back to Peter, helmet retracting. Steve nods dazedly and Sam claps a hand on his shoulder worriedly. “You good?” Tony asks Peter who nods a little. “What about your bum knee, how's that doing?” He asks trying to get a better look at it. 

Peter shifts so they aren’t as close to each other and shows him the leg. “Steve put his knee guard on me so it’s been helping to keep it in place, still hurts like hell though.” Peter says, flinching as the pain flares up again. Tony’s mouth settles into a hard line. 

“Okay, let’s get you on the jet so we can get to the Compound and pump you full of the extra strong drugs for spider-kids that have super metabolisms.” Tony says, helping Peter to his feet and wrapping an arm around his waist as Peter throws his arm over Tony’s shoulder. He nods to Steve, Natasha and Sam and the Captain nods back.

As soon as they get outside, Rhodey is rushing towards them, sans suit. 

“Hey, kid,” he says as he wraps his arm around Peter’s waist opposite of Tony and helping walk to the jet. “It would be you who gets a little roughed up, huh?” Peter lets out a breathless laugh.

“Where’d the other kids go?” Tony asks. “Did you lose them? Damn, Rhodes, I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone to babysit.” Rhodey scoffs playfully.

“No, I didn’t lose them,” he says dramatically. Peter gasps in pain when his foot hits a rock on the way, josling his knee. They slow their pace and Rhodey and Tony tighten their grip on Peter’s waist so he doesn’t fall. “Cops came while you guys were inside. I got them to stay away from the building but they’re gonna come back so we better hope Cap and Co. are gone by then or that’s gonna be a lot more paperwork than there’s already gonna be.”

When they get inside the jet, they help Peter sit on the med table in the middle of the jet. Peter grunts at the pain it causes his leg and burning muscles. They lay him down and Tony retracts the suit so he can sit more comfortably next to the kid. Tony offers the kid his hand to hold as Rhodey gets the jet in the air. Peter doesn’t hesitate when he grabs the hand.

When it looks like Peter’s asleep, Tony asks the question that's been burning and festering in the back of his mind since the beginning of this shit storm.

“There was a guy, he was the one that blew up the part of the building we were in, did you see what happened to him? He pulled a disappearing act before I could catch him.” Tony asks and Rhodey purses his lips and shakes his head.

“Sorry, Tones, didn’t see ‘em,” Rhodey says. “But we can come back and see what’s left after the police are done here. If Ross isn’t too pissed about this, that is.” 

“Shit, this wasn’t supposed to happen,” Tony says, rubbing a hand down his face and sighing heavily. “The kid getting hurt or Ross finding out. You think we’ll get arrested?”

“I dunno.” Rhodey says softly.

“Hey, whatever they ask you about the mission, the kid wasn’t there. We got tipped off by an anonymous source and had to check it out or some shit like that. He wasn’t involved in the slightest. He’s just an intern for SI.” Tony says and a parental urge to do whatever it takes to keep the sleeping boy in front of him safe bubbles up from his stomach to his chest.

“Well as far as Ross is concerned, he’ll probably think it was Cap.” Rhodey tries to assure. It doesn’t make Tony feel any better for some reason.

——————————————————————

Once at the Compound, Rhodey and Tony take the very sleepy Peter to the medbay and get a nurse to look at his knee. It burns Tony to his core that Rogers used his knee guard to help his kid. It should’ve been him in there instead of Peter all together.

It’s early morning when they get Peter settled in a room in the medbay since they don’t want to josle the leg anymore than they have to by moving him to his room. Tony walks into the lowly lit room with a glass of water in hand. The lamp on the bedside table is on and it glows a faint orange/yellow light that casts a soft glare on Peter’s face.

Tony shuffles over and places the glass on the table and a soft click emits from it. Peter doesn’t stir, he just makes a soft snuffling noise in his sleep that could be a sigh or a snore and rolls so he’s facing towards Tony, who snorts at the action. 

Tony sits down and immediately feels awkward. Should he hold Peter’s hand like how he did on the jet or is that too weird? He isn’t Peter’s dad. 

But that doesn’t mean he can’t be there for him. Tony tentatively slips his hand into Peter’s and holds his breath, hoping beyond hope the kid won’t wake up. He doesn’t and Tony settles more into the chair.

Tony knows the rest of his day is going to be… hectic. Ross probably already knows that he and Rhodey went on a mission that wasn’t assigned to them and is pissed as all hell. He would have to call May and tell her what happened to her nephew. Tony will have to send the kid on his way, back to his apartment in Queens, and pray to whatever god that might be out there that May will let Peter be in the same room as him ever again.

But for now, everything is okay. Peter is safe and healing in the compound, high on super drugs that would only keep him out for another couple of hours. For once, Tony feels like everything might be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> So I’m really proud of this one. It wasn’t easy to write, like, at all. I had to think about how all the characters would act in a situation like this. Obviously Tony is a very nervous iron-dad for his spider-son. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing this.


End file.
